DENVER, July 1, 2013 – Marine wildlife expert Jonna Mazet, DVM, MPVM, PhD, was recently appointed to Morris Animal Foundation’s board of trustees. Mazet is a professor of epidemiology and disease ecology and director of the Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis. She also founded California’s Oiled Wildlife Care Network, the premier model wildlife emergency management system worldwide, and remains a consulting expert on wildlife preparedness and response.

Mazet specializes in wildlife epidemiology and as the director of the Wildlife Health Center concentrates on balancing the needs of people, wildlife and the environment. She has received multiple grants from Morris Animal Foundation centered on wildlife health. She also served on the nonprofit organization’s Wildlife Scientific Advisory Board.

Currently, Mazet is the principal investigator and director on a new global early warning system, named PREDICT, which is being developed with $75 million in funding over five years through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Emerging Pandemic Threats Program. PREDICT is establishing a global surveillance system for zoonotic diseases.

Mazet joins the Morris Animal Foundation board of trustees at the onset of the organization’s new fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2013. She will be one of 17 board of trustee members, providing governance for Morris Animal Foundation. The foundation is a global leader in supporting science to advance veterinary medicine for companion animals and wildlife worldwide.